I understand what I’m about to write might raise a few eyebrows. Please know I do so…respecting each and every reader, whether you agree with me or not.
I wish everyone the best.

From the University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center:

"Several key lifestyle choices can affect your risk for developing disease. The leading preventable cause of death in the United States is smoking, closely followed by obesity. Choosing to avoid tobacco and maintain a healthy body weight will greatly reduce your risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes."

And as reported at http://heartdisease.about.com:

"In 1986, researchers from the Harvard School of Public health began following over 42,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The men had no cardiovascular disease at the time they were enrolled in the study. The researchers then tabulated any cardiovascular events (heart attacks or death) that occurred in this population of men. They concluded that, had all men adopted five healthy lifestyle habits, over 60% of the cardiovascular events that occurred in this population would have been prevented.

The five life-saving healthy habits were:

not smoking
daily exercise
prudent eating
consuming moderate amounts of alcohol
maintaining a healthy weight."

And one of the many important conclusions made by Cornell University as a result of the multi-year Cornell-China-Oxford Project:

"Vegetarians obtain plenty of calcium and appear to have higher rates of bone density, which predispose them to lower rates of osteoporosis," said Campbell, who reported last year that Americans will not reduce their rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other chronic, degenerative diseases until they shift from an animal-based diet to a plant-based diet. Animal-based diets tend to be high in fat and low in fiber; plant-based diets are generally low in fat and high in fiber and other substances such as antioxidants, which are proving to be important in preventing cancer."

http://www.news.cornell.edu/chronicle/96/11.14.96/osteoporosis.html

There’s so much more I could post here, but I think you get my drift. Bottom line: Estimates are that over 70% of all illness and disease is a result of personal lifestyle choices one makes. (And much of the remaining disease: triggered by toxins in the environment. The small percentage left: genetics. But I’d suggest you YouTube/google cellular biologist and author Bruce Lipton ["Biology of Belief"] to learn the latest on this…because we’ve been sold a bill of goods there, too.).

(Oops, more eyebrows being raised…think I can feel it…!)

Hafta be honest at this point: While I’m concerned about the health insurance craziness going on, most of that concern is focused on the process rather than content. And the process: corrupt, through and through. Corrupt, dishonest, manipulative, a shell game.

I am committed to doing all I can to shift such "norms" on the planet.

As for my own health care? Well, I’m 56 years old and had one brief cancer scare which turned itself around completely once I "got" that my body was talking to me, trying to get my attention, and telling me: Change your perspective. And change…your life.

I did. And the tumor disappeared. On its own. (I am not making this up.)

That was over fifteen years ago. And even with a family history of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer…am doing great. As is my brother. (Note: We are also both into plant-based diets, which has made a huge difference in our levels of wellness, no question.)

Getting back to insurance: Even if, for some wild and crazy reason I did get some new "health scare," I have read enough, researched enough to know…my last choice would be using traditional medical treatments. Yet alternatives to the chemo/drugs/surgery stuff…none of it’s covered by insurance policies.

An option I just read about yesterday in my home state of Minnesota. Put forward by the Independent Party here (which is growing by leaps and bounds, btw). Long story short:
1. Lower premiums for those who implement health lifestyle choices;
2. Lower premiums for those whose BMI (body mass index) is proportional to height;
3. Monies which would go toward personal healthcare funds (rather than insurance policies that cover just the allopathic stuff) that people could use toward ALTERNATIVE preventative care/treatments, with the only "required" insurance being a "catastrophic occurrance" rider;
4. Reduce/stop payment toward treatments that were found to be ineffective, no matter what the pharmaceutical company/medical industrial complex hype was around them;
5. Increase/add payment for treatments that are most effective. Note: Am not sure how this would be implemented with the insurance companies, but the bottom line message: Money should be going only toward what works, not what doesn’t work, no matter how much profit those "don’t work" treatments or drugs bring to Big Pharma/medical industrial complex. (Clinical trials excluded of course.)

What I like about this approach:

1. Premiums won’t be so much based on age, or even a pre-existing condition, but on what each is doing to take personal responsibility for being "in charge" of her/his own health (lifestyle choices).
2. For someone like me who doesn’t go the traditional medical model route, I’d be able to use monies I’d be otherwise forced to pay for premiums and put them into a healthcare account which I could then spend on alternatives that are more prevention-based/work for me.
3. Money won’t flow to a pharmaceutical company just because its advertising strategy puts a less-than-effective drug in the faces of physicians, but will flow toward treatments that have proven to actually work.
4. Ditto money flowing to doctors or hospitals for surgeries that have been proven to have no real effect on a patient’s outcomes.

I understand…this country has been brainwashed into believing that a pill or procedure is "the answer." And for some, it can be. But not always (regardless of the hype or supersell), and not for everyone.

"Let’s get costs down!" people exclaim.

To which I would add, "Let’s improve results!"

Thanks for reading, whether you agree…or not.